The present invention generally relates to more electric aircraft and, more particularly, to electric power distribution systems for aircraft.
There has been a growing trend in developing more electric aircraft (MEA). The MEA concept employs an overall system approach to optimizing the airframe and engine systems of aircraft on the premise that significant benefits can be achieved by replacing today's pneumatic, hydraulic and electric airframe power systems with predominantly electric power. The trend toward MEA creates increased demands for electric power and more sophisticated power distribution and load management systems. As a result, more and more intelligence has been incorporated into such aircraft electric power distribution and load management systems.
The conventional, prior art architecture for an aircraft electric power distribution system normally includes three completely independent subsystems: a primary power distribution system, a secondary power distribution system, and an emergency power distribution system. These three subsystems are usually coordinated with each other via an aircraft communication network.
For example, the primary power distribution system typically includes a number of primary distribution units; the secondary primary power distribution system typically includes a number of secondary distribution units; and each primary or secondary distribution unit is independent of the others and communicates directly to the aircraft, e.g., via a direct connection to the aircraft data bus. Although both primary and secondary subsystems perform a number of similar functions and share many common functions, these independent subsystems typically have different implementations, i.e., different hardware, different software, different physical and electrical interfaces, and different communication interfaces. Nevertheless, the different implementations of subsystems in such a conventional power distribution system architecture give rise to duplication of functionality throughout the power distribution system. Such duplication may be viewed as inefficient in terms of unnecessary cost or weight of the system (especially for aircraft) if it were possible to eliminate any of the duplication without loss of any functionality of the system. In addition, the use of such differently implemented subsystems adds complexity and risk to the overall system integration for the power distribution system, because the overall system integration is typically, and in many cases can only be, performed after the development is complete for each of the different individual subsystems.
Using the architecture of prior art power distribution systems, however, it is neither feasible nor cost effective to try to eliminate the duplication of hardware or duplication of functionality.
As can be seen, there is a need for an integrated electric power distribution system having an architecture that avoids the duplicate functionalities and duplication of hardware found in prior art electric power distribution systems.